I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)

uplanderguy

Did you want to avoid unleaded gas? That’s why my dad bought a new ‘74 Impala as the ‘75’s were trickling in.

I never saw a real Monza until Feb ‘75. My understanding was that they were a slow rollout.

I thought it was odd that the Monza brochure was entirely drawings, not usual for Chevy.

roadburner

No, I was just afraid of a relatively new design.

texases

Not that old, but on my trip to Walmart, got out of the car, heard a nice V8 burble, it was a last-gen Monte Carlo SS, did they sound that way from the factory?

uplanderguy

The Monte Carlo was largely a carryover, although I don’t like the grille or taillights on the ‘75 as well as the ‘74.

Michaell

texases said:

Not that old, but on my trip to Walmart, got out of the car, heard a nice V8 burble, it was a last-gen Monte Carlo SS, did they sound that way from the factory?

Probably not - I think it had the same 5.3L V8 that the Impala SS had. A nice aftermarket exhaust would give it a bit of a burble.

texases

I bet you're right. I was surprised how loud the exhaust was on the Mustang GT we rented a few years ago. I liked it, my wife...not so much.

Michaell

texases said:

I bet you're right. I was surprised how loud the exhaust was on the Mustang GT we rented a few years ago. I liked it, my wife...not so much.

I'll bet there was a way to tone down the noise. @oldfarmer50 - maybe you can enlighten us.

ab348

texases said:

I bet you're right. I was surprised how loud the exhaust was on the Mustang GT we rented a few years ago. I liked it, my wife...not so much.

Sarah-N-Tuned on YouTube just did a review of the 2024 Mustang GT 650(?) and spent a lot of time demonstrating the selectable exhaust tones, from loud burble to obnoxious. I think there were 4 or 5 different choices.

fintail

Spotted today -- a pretty clean and stock E36 M3 sedan, and a first gen Lumina sedan with a work-in-progress full bodykit - not a subtle "Euro" style, but a wacky all-out Fast and Furious kind of thing, must be a kid with time and a sense of humor.

explorerx4

Shoe Box 55 Chevy, across the street from the 67 Impala, is still for sale.

uplanderguy

I still like the '55 best of the three years, followed by the '56.

explorerx4

I never heard of a spaghetti shifter but I guess it's a thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ_CQlUoaso

ab348

I don’t remember ever seeing one either, cool piece. I find it odd that they painted the top of the inner door black.

explorerx4

Saw this on my way back home after airport drop off.

texases

Pretty bland color for that era.

fintail

Edsel is a hardtop anyway.

Saw an 81-85 Mazda GLC sedan on the road today. Visited a farm on a work trip and they were still using Honda Big Red 3 wheelers as utility vehicles, pretty cool.

andre1969

I don't think the top metal edge of that '68 Dart's door panel is black, but rather a really dark green. It probably just looks black because of the lighting/shadows. The lock plunger looks green to me, like it matches the exterior color.

That brought back a memory of my '68 Dart, that I had forgotten about. It was white with a white/burgundy interior. The vinyl seats and door panels/armrests were white, but everything else was burgundy, except for some black plastic trim on the dash. Anyway, even the lock plungers on the doors were burgundy!

I remember we had a conversation about GM trying to color coordinating the lock plungers with the interior colors around 1967-68, but giving up because it was a logistics nightmare. I wonder how long Chrysler tried it for? My '69 Dart's plungers were black, but so was its whole interior. I also had a '67 Newport for about 6 months, back in 1999, but its interior was black, as well.

uplanderguy

My C8 was built Monday, one of 225 built that day. I knew that from a chart a guy online keeps of production figures applied to VINS ending in 00001 and higher.

My dealer emailed me yesterday that it was completed and awaiting shipment. I'd bet I'm a couple weeks away yet.

I'm pretty amazed that adding it to my insurance policy (same insurer, house, '19 Equinox, '15 Cruze) adds only $329 a year to my policy. That's with $1K deductible, 0 deductible for glass, and the coverage that they'll reimburse for a car up to two model years newer in a case of a total.

My first deposit with a very big C8 dealer estimated me to be an early summer '24 delivery. This small dealer, I went in and ordered in early June, thinking it could still be a '23 model. As it is I'm the 859th '24 model, which to me is a plus to be at the beginning of a model year, unless it's a totally new design. Another benefit was the doc fee at the small dealer was $425 less than the big dealer. Both sold the car at sticker.

I don't love it being built on Monday by UAW guys working without a contract, LOL, but I think the only potentially bad thing that could happen is if the union targets Bowling Green soon--like, before the car is shipped, as the transport company has said they won't cross picket lines.

ab348

uplanderguy said:

I'm pretty amazed that adding it to my insurance policy (same insurer, house, '19 Equinox, '15 Cruze) adds only $329 a year to my policy. That's with $1K deductible, 0 deductible for glass, and the coverage that they'll reimburse for a car up to two model years newer in a case of a total.

That's good in case you wrap it around a tree when you get crazed by its power.

kyfdx

Suzuki XL-7, followed by a late model BMW 330i wagon

Then, for @uplanderguy , a brand new C8 in a dark, sort of rusty, red. Had temporary tags on it, and by the way it was being driven, might have just left the Chevy lot for the first time..

sda

A reasonably clean silver second generation Infiniti G20 on 485 during my drive to work.

jwm40517

A local auction house is selling several vehicles this week, one is a 2006 Chevy Express work van 2500 size with 313,000 miles. It looks it with practically no rocker panels , missing paint and surface rust. Still, amazing miles.

uplanderguy

Yeah, pretty good for a work vehicle, which I'm sure got flogged and probably not religious maintenance.

stickguy

Nice day today so lots of people out taking advantage before winter hits. Rarest was a real MG TD. Red, looked well used but parked at the hiking trail so being driven. RHD. very cool. Top down but no owner to talk to.

And passed out driving a C2 convertible, 69 Camaro, 67 or so Nova (sounded mean and looked great) and a 67 GTO coupe. Like the 60s never ended, and likely in about 6 weeks every one of them will be in the garage covered in a battery tender.

fintail

Was out in the fintail and got a friendly wave from a guy in maybe a 70 Cutlass, the notchback type. Also saw an 80s Vanagon in good shape.

fintail

On the road today saw a maybe 68-69 intermediate Olds convertible, had a spoiler so either something special or a clone. Also the same AMX from a little while back - I noticed it had sequential turn signals, not stock? Finished up with the same Conquest/Starion I saw a while back, the same Topaz I see weekly, and an E30 sedan that sounded like it had no exhaust.

ab348

A disappointingly large number of '68-'72 Olds intermediates have become afflicted with rear wings after repros of the '70-'72 version of it became available in the aftermarket. I hate the wing anyway, but seeing them on vehicles that could never have had one new really grinds my gears. They were not a particularly popular option when new and were never available on convertibles since those had a slightly different shape to the trunk lid but you'd think they were standard equipment these days.

uplanderguy

I don't like spoilers either, in general. On the old Lumina Euro, you could delete it for credit and I always thought I'd do that if I ordered one. My C8 won't have a spoiler. Some of them on those cars are absolutely ridiculous.

I think I know the spoiler you were talking about on those Oldses--just rather like a bench--flat horizontal top part, supported by a vertical brace near each end underneath.

On another topic, I read today from a reliable source that C8's are going up 2K effective orders today. Glad I skated that. Had I stayed with the original dealer I believe I'd be paying that as he didn't actually do anything except keep me in queue and wasn't interested in color or equipment until spring '24.

I think the UAW probably deserve an increase, even though the foreign companies building here aren't UAW and their employees are generally paid less. That said, the targeting of parts warehouses I think makes the dealers look bad and aims right at retail customers, because repairs can't be made if dealers can't get the parts.

I've never had a job where I could extort my employer and keep my job, sigh.

imidazol97

I have my opinion that UAW folks have been overpaid and over benefitted for a long time. I recall many strikes and almost strikes.

My next car will be non-UAW, most likely, if I end up trading for a new one.

uplanderguy

ab348, something else I see a lot more of now than I ever did back-in-the-day, is beautifully-restored cars, including upper-trim-level models, with dog-dish hubcaps. Arrrgggh!

Often I see them on cars where full wheel covers were standard equipment and dog-dish weren't even available from the factory on that particular trim level. For example, '69 Grand Prix I saw them on; an otherwise beautiful and authentic-looking car.

Small hub caps were available on C1 Corvettes only on 'big brake' cars; full wheel covers were standard on all others. Yet probably a third or more C1's I see at Hershey have dog-dish caps, LOL.

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

I have my opinion that UAW folks have been overpaid and over benefitted for a long time. I recall many strikes and almost strikes.

My next car will be non-UAW, most likely, if I end up trading for a new one.

For years I never considered a UAW assembled vehicle. I made an exception with the Wrangler and I almost bought a couple of Mustangs as well as a Challenger. That said, aside from a Jeep I will likely stick with German vehicles.

uplanderguy

Dealer messaged that my C8 came in this morning. He sent me a video of it coming off the truck, and some pics here. We are taking delivery Saturday. I'm excited, and scared some too, as this is real 'wild hair' for me!

kyfdx

Really cool

Michaell

That's awesome.

I've seen some videos of cars being "unwrapped" - oddly soothing.

andre1969

That's really cool, Uplander! As for the being excited and scared at the same time, I can relate. But, once you actually have possession of it, and the reality sinks in, I think you'll get used to it, and that feeling of fear will subside.

At least, it did with me. Some days, I forget my Charger is even out there in the garage. And, I hate to say it, but that new-car euphoria has worn off. It just feels "normal" now, for lack of a better phrase.

And, on more than one occasion, I've looked out into the driveway and momentarily thought HEY, where's my Regal?! And then it's like oh...yeah. The other day I was also thinking about how the registration is going to come due soon on the Regal, and it really needs new front tires, but then I caught myself and was like oh, yeah, I don't have to worry about that anymore!

I guess old habits die hard.

sda

How exciting! Sharp car, love the red interior! With the new found power, avoid 'blue light specials!"

texases

So you got the 'body colored accents'? Or is that some protective film on the side scoop? Either way, nice.

explorerx4

@uplanderguy,
Car looks great! Hope the weather stays good so you can get some miles in.

stickguy

Sharp looking. Be careful with all that HP. don’t want to ditch it!

uplanderguy

Thanks all. I did not buy the body colored trim; this is protective wrap.

It’s the 2LT which has some of the safety stuff, and it’s a hardtop convertible. Only option I chose was the front end lift for our driveway.

Andre, enjoy Hershey. I’m jealous. My friend Bob called me this morning from there and the weather sounds great.

fintail

Fantastic. Savor every minute of it, as I am sure this is something resulting from a long period of work and planning.

Now you need something like this to pair with it :

uplanderguy said:

Dealer messaged that my C8 came in this morning. He sent me a video of it coming off the truck, and some pics here. We are taking delivery Saturday. I'm excited, and scared some too, as this is real 'wild hair' for me!

andre1969

Thanks Uplander. Too bad you won't be there, but you're getting a nice consolation on Saturday! Hard to believe it's already been a year since we met.

I'm going up for the day tomorrow morning, and taking the Charger so that Lemko and Grbeck can get a ride in it. This probably sounds a bit silly, because nobody buys these types of cars for their fuel economy, but I'm kinda curious to see how the Charger does on a highway run. The Regal could get 30-32 on the highway, if I didn't push it too hard, but was usually more in the 27-29 range on the highway. In my type of local driving, it was usually good for around 20-22. I had to work at it to get it below 20!

I topped off the Charger for the first time on Tuesday. I had driven it a whopping 138 miles since I bought it. They sold it to me with a full tank (in theory at least). 50 miles of that was the trip home from the dealership, and the remaining 88 was local driving. 19.34 mpg, which isn't too bad, in my opinion, especially considering that included a few launches, to show off (within reason) for my friends. It would probably make a Prius driver cringe, and a Tesla driver write their congressman to get me banned from driving, though!

uplanderguy

LOL!

This car should be a far cry from the '15 Cruze LS (bottom feeder) that looks like it's been parked by feel by my daughter for the last six years, which I've been driving for a couple months as my daily. I gave her my '17 Cruze LT, only 10K fewer miles but much nicer car, well-maintained, looked nice in and out. She hit the side of her garage in CT with it; $4K damage. I had it repaired. She scraped an aluminum wheel on it before that. I bought a new wheel. In Seattle someone hit her in the same place (RR quarter) we had repaired two or three months ago. I told her I wasn't paying $1K deductible on the same car twice in three months. It doesn't bother her enough to pay the $1K, which makes me crazy. I've had pride of ownership in even the most humble cars I've bought over the years, sigh.

uplanderguy

Spotted in Tallmadge, OH today, at a car wash across the street from a Ford dealer.

I'd have liked to look inside but it was pretty close to the car wash building.

No vinyl top, unusual, and no body side moldings, unusual, but both were indeed optional.

I think that green is a '77-only color although looks a bit light from my memory of the '77 color.

I still think GM nailed the B-and-C-bodies for '77. The midsize cars the next year, although I like the size and space utilization, not so much.

uplanderguy

I absolutely love the '62 Corvette, fin. I'd want a Fawn Beige hardtop. That said, that white one would make a nice bookend!

I really have not wanted a Corvette since the '62, until now.

stickguy

A few today. A 67 GTO (or lemans) convertible. Smelled like a muscle car! Driving around.

A very rare mid 70s Olds Starfirw (monza clone) hatch. White with original brown and orange graphics.

And something not seen in forever, a red Subaru Brat. And it was for sale! If I noticed it sooner I would have walked over to check it out but I was already pulling out of the park g lot.

Michaell

I know I've mentioned this story elsewhere in these forums, but it's been a while ...

A friend of my dad won a small-ish lottery back in the 1990's - I think something like $500K.

One of the purchases from the winnings was an early 60's Corvette - he got a vanity plate that read "6TWON".

explorerx4

I have never heard of the show "Supernatural" but I guess it was on for 15 years.
Car star is a 67 Impala.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-DIwBJLAsY

sda

uplanderguy said:

Spotted in Tallmadge, OH today, at a car wash across the street from a Ford dealer.

I'd have liked to look inside but it was pretty close to the car wash building.

No vinyl top, unusual, and no body side moldings, unusual, but both were indeed optional.

I think that green is a '77-only color although looks a bit light from my memory of the '77 color.

I still think GM nailed the B-and-C-bodies for '77. The midsize cars the next year, although I like the size and space utilization, not so much.

I can't see the front or back. It is a 77-79 Olds 98 LS, not the Regency. I have probably shared this story before, in 1980 I was looking for a car for my parents to replace the 76 Cutlass Supreme wagon. Dad hated wagons for whatever reason, though the Cutlass was a fine car. I saw a 78 98 LS listed in the classifieds, remember those? It seemed to be priced too cheap. I thought it must be a wreck. After about 2 weeks it was still listed. I called on it. It was the company car of the president of a small firm. He replaced cars every 2 years and every other 2 years he would give the car to his wife. He would get the new car. I went to see it. It was immaculate. I called dad. He came with his check book, and we drove it home. A lovely white on white with red velour interior, fully equipped, 403 V8, low miles. About 6 months later dad sold it for a $1500 profit. It was replaced with a 78 Olds 98 Regency coupe, 403, Astro roof. Mom loved that car and has insisted that whenever she gets a newer car it has to have the equivalent of an Astro roof.

andre1969

explorerx4 said:

I have never heard of the show "Supernatural" but I guess it was on for 15 years.
Car star is a 67 Impala.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-DIwBJLAsY

There's one of those that shows up at the GM show in Carlisle PA pretty regularly. I can't remember if it was a replica, or one of the actual tv show cars, though.

My housemate used to watch the show, and I'd catch it every once in awhile. It wasn't bad. They tended to put some pretty cool cars in it, as well. I seem to recall one season, for whatever reason Sam and Dean lost their Impala, and every episode they would be driving a different old car.